Perspectives of Bioartists and Community Lab Organizers on Working with Living Organisms

Abstract

There is increasing interest within the HCI community about working with living organisms in the design of interactive systems. Bioartists and community lab participants have worked with living organisms for decades. Their motivations for doing so include artistic expression, design innovation, and activism. We interviewed 12 artists, community lab organizers, and researchers who work with or facilitate work with living organisms. Participants expressed perspectives on working with living organisms and described bioart as an effective practice for engaging and informing the public, fostering transdisciplinary collaborations, and facilitating inspiration and learning from organic processes. They also discussed questions of agency and consent, among other ethical issues in this context. Based on our findings, we present future directions to investigate the potential of hybrid living media interfaces to engage and educate human users, open up possibilities for transdisciplinary collaborations, and participate in ethical dialogues on emerging technologies in a new way.